Chapter 166 An Alliance of Evil

When the news from Shuntian Prefecture reached Weihui, Yuzhou, and the Lu Prince's manor there, the response wasn't as violent as the envoy had expected. The Lu Prince didn't appear in person, but remained hidden within the manor, claiming illness.

The envoy assumed that the Lu Prince was trying to gain Emperor Wanli's sympathy with his illness, but this was none of his concern. After delivering the message, he hastily departed, not even daring to linger.

In the main hall of the manor, a massive bronze mirror stood.

The Lu Prince wasn't in his Weihui manor, but in Hengzhou, Hunan.

This was where the Lingxiao Nü (Goddess of the High Heavens) deity originated. Born from folk worship, it wasn't an orthodox deity recognized by the Ming court, but rather an evil, minor deity ineligible for the top thirty-six ranks.

Here, a vast manor stood, not belonging to the Lu Prince, but to the Yong Prince. This Yong Prince had died in the second year of the Zhengde era without heirs, leaving the manor vacant and his fiefdom dissolved. However, it left behind a prosperous neighborhood called Jin'ao Lane.

The national prestige here was strong, and it was said that divine beasts roamed the area.

Within the manor, a golden wheel reflected everything inside and outside the Lu Prince's manor in Yuzhou.

"I never thought my imperial brother would actually make a move against me. I thought brotherly affection was above all else, but I didn't expect it would come to this."

The Lu Prince looked remarkably young and handsome, like a jade tree in the wind, resembling someone in his early twenties. He bore no resemblance to Emperor Wanli. His complexion was rosy, his spirit vibrant, and he exuded a gentle aura that made people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze.

He was accompanied by a pair of young children, a boy and a girl, like porcelain dolls. He stroked their heads as if they were puppies, eliciting stiff smiles that looked incredibly strange.

"He even exiled his own son. The current Emperor Wanli is not the one you know."

A voice came from beside the Lu Prince. It was a woman in vermillion robes, the Fire Lord.

The Fire Lord possessed the Fire Escape technique, using flames to jump around, repeatedly teleporting between her worshipped incense temples and returning to Hunan.

The Escape technique had always been a superior way to escape in spells. Compared to Ji Xiang's Earth Walking and Earth Escape, the Fire Lord's Fire Escape had its own unique magic.

"Tyrant... a tyrant! This is destiny! Your coming to rely on me is also destiny."

The Lu Prince looked at the Fire Lord and praised her, "From now on, you can be a guest in my manor, planning great things with me. I have nine prefectures and twenty-five counties under my control, with vast wealth. Countless extraordinary people serve under me. I won't mistreat you..."

"Actually, with your beauty, I really want to marry you as a concubine... but you're too dangerous."

The Fire Lord smiled. The Lu Prince was indeed good-looking.

People from Li Shanhe had already told her that if possible, she should marry the Lu Prince as a concubine. After all, the physical body was just a shell, and the pleasures of love weren't a big deal. If she only cared about chastity, the Celestial Essence could help her undergo a complete transformation...

Although she still felt slightly disgusted, she didn't like this prince. She always felt that his temperament was even stranger than her own. But for the great cause of the Yellow Heaven Sect, to reach a higher position, and to seek revenge on Ji Xiang, her body was just a small bargaining chip and wasn't worth much.

Rather, if she could exchange her body for benefits, it would be a bargain.

However, the people behind the Lu Prince had already told him about the danger of the Fire Lord.

"Assassinating the imperial brother? Your courage is greater than the heavens... I don't know whether to call you arrogant or ignorant?"

The Fire Lord frowned slightly, "I didn't act without a plan. I carefully planned for two years, inducing Emperor Wanli to officially consecrate and bless the Fire God Temple. This allowed me to obtain the title of 'Righteous God of the Nation,' which allowed me to move freely in the palace. Furthermore, the Taiyin Cataclysmic Fire could make up for any shortcomings. If it hadn't been for an unexpected person appearing halfway, Emperor Wanli would have died by my hand."

The Lu Prince poured a cup of tea and blew on it to cool it, "Hoo! So you're a very dangerous person, capable of using a prince to plan for two years, inciting others to usurp the throne, and helping you, a murderer. Who knows, after marrying you as my concubine, you might dislike me one day and burn my life away too."

"But, do you think you'll really succeed just by killing the imperial brother?"

"Do you know where your own methods come from?"

The Fire Lord's beautiful eyebrows furrowed tightly, "My father, Zen Master Huyan, received the Dharma from a hermit Daoist in the mountains..."

"A hermit Daoist! Hahaha! Do you know that after the twenty-first year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, many branches of the White Lotus Society were born. Those leaders and founders all met a hermit Daoist one day, and then received the Dharma. After only a few days, they began to establish their own sects and doctrines..."

"Tell me, who is this hermit Daoist?"

The Fire Lord couldn't guess and shook her head. The Lu Prince sighed, "Let me tell you the truth. The root of the Yellow Heaven Sect comes from Emperor Shizong Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty."

These words shocked the Fire Lord greatly!

"What do you mean by this?"

"Fire Lord, don't be afraid. At least Emperor Jiajing is ignoring you. In a sense, you are his grand-disciple, so naturally you are my esteemed guest. Your methods are the valuable property that Emperor Jiajing left behind in the Hidden World. Even now, you are very important to me."

"This is because you will honor me as king, and I will help you realize your ideals. However, your doctrines must submit to my doctrines."

The Fire Lord was stunned! She was greatly surprised, to the point of being somewhat dumbfounded for a moment.

You, the Lu Prince, who looks so handsome and dashing, are also a member of the White Lotus Society?

Well, this counts as finding the organization. Are you going to rebel against yourself?

The Lu Prince laughed and said, "Why are you so surprised? We're all not good people. The White Lotus Society is just tricking the masses into working for them for free, risking their lives. It's nothing good."

Then, he did something that shocked the Fire Lord. He took his hand off one of the boy's head and pointed to the door.

The boy was immediately terrified. His smile disappeared. Seeing that the child didn't want to leave, the Lu Prince smiled helplessly, reached out his hand... and dug out the child's heart.

The boy's heart was pulled out, and his body fell to the ground. The Lu Prince reached out and used a spell to shrink the body, then turned it into a fist-sized meat bun and ate it.

The girl next to him seemed oblivious to the boy's death, still sitting there blankly, like a puppet, still wearing a terrified smile.

"You!"

Even the ferocious Fire Lord had never seen such a horrifying scene. At least the Fire Lord's targets were only everyone in the Forbidden City. To the people outside the city, they were all objects that could be used, and she needed their wishes and incense. Why would she actively kill them?

But the Lu Prince's actions at this moment made the Fire Lord feel an electric shock all over her body.

"The hearts of young boys and girls are great medicine, which can be refined into immortal pills for longevity... What, Jiajing did these things, so I can't do them? Haven't you eaten children before? Children are fragrant with milk, their skin is thin and their meat is tender, they melt in your mouth, they feel comfortable to touch, and they're fun to raise and play with. If you find them boring, just eat them..."

"Emperor Wuzong of Tang once used human hearts to make pills, ordering the people of the world to offer the hearts of fifteen-year-old boys and girls every year, eating a total of more than eighty human hearts. It is said that refining pills with the hearts of young boys and girls is as effective as the Celestial Essence of the Sun, which can enable one to become an immortal on the spot. This technique is said to have come from the Book of Luo... Of course, this must be false. The Book of Luo is just a bunch of tadpole characters. Who can understand it?"

"You're also someone who kills like crazy. It's just the death of a child. There's no need to show such an expression, right?"

The Lu Prince turned his face to the side. Half of his face turned hideous, with green face and fangs like a devil. At the same time, a huge power rose from his body, the power of the peak of the Xiantian realm!

Seeing the Fire Lord so suspicious, the Lu Prince said that in the past, he used an excuse to stay in the Forbidden City and spent twelve years in closed-door cultivation. He had already passed the Golden Core and Yuanshen realms in his childhood!

Those who cultivated bitterly and became Golden Core Earth Immortals could be beaten easily by him when he reached adulthood!

No one in the Hidden World knew about this, not even his closest Emperor Wanli.

"I am different from my useless imperial brother. He has inferior bones, while I have the bones of a celestial being! Although neither of us are of Emperor Zhengde's bloodline and inherited Jiajing's inferior bones, I have taken the Celestial Essence of the Moon and have already been reborn!"

"Digging out the heart of a child in front of you is just to tell you, don't worry, there are no good people here. Be bold and be my helper. Righteous methods or evil methods, they are all keys to the Great Dao."

The Fire Lord frowned, "Lu Prince, can you tell me, who is behind you? I now think you are more terrible and fierce than me. At least I... don't eat people."

The Lu Prince laughed loudly, "Whether or not you eat people is not the conclusion to judge whether a person is fierce or not. I know some monsters who only need people to offer a pair of young boys and girls every year, but they can guarantee good weather and abundant harvests in the local area. Do you say they are evil or good? In short, they are definitely more kind than you, a rebellious and murderous Fire Girl, right?"

"At least they will protect people, and I am the same. At least I will protect the people of my fiefdom."